


The Probability is Low

by xdluhman (deirdrepaterson)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/F, Starfleet!T'Pring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-17 00:36:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5847091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deirdrepaterson/pseuds/xdluhman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyota Uhura has one last project before she's guaranteed an officership. Four Earth months on Vulcan, studying and improving the universal translator. Then she can pursue her dreams on board a starship.<br/>Lieutenant Commander T'Pring has her life planned out. If everything works, she will be an admiral by the time she's fifty. She just has to supervise another Starfleet member on their communications project.<br/>What could go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Probability is Low

_Thank the gods these seats are comfortable_ , Nyota Uhura thought as she settled in for the week long journey that would take her to Vulcan, where she would complete her thesis on the language of the planet as well as make modifications to the current design of the Universal Translator. Once she finished that, she would _finally_ get a long-term placement on a ship.

It had been a long journey just to get to that point in her life. Nyota's mother had insisted for years upon years that she become a musician, especially since such jobs were well-paying in the 24th century, since poverty had been eliminated. But she had fallen in love with space and languages at a very young age, and by the time she was twelve, she knew her destiny was in the stars, and hopefully at the helm of a starship. This caused quite the rift between mother and daughter, eventually leading to Nyota having to pay the fees associated with her education by herself. Granted, it wasn't much; most colleges were low cost, and Starfleet Academy was actually tuition-free, leaving room and board and occasionally textbooks to the students. It wasn't all that much, but still, finding a job in San Francisco, near the Academy, that paid well was quite the challenge. She was both fortunate and unfortunate to have gotten a job working for the Vulcan ambassador as an assistant and liaison to the Academy. It was fortunate because it led to the final job that she was on right now, but unfortunate because Ambassador Sarek was, of course, a full-blooded Vulcan and thus sometimes seemed overly harsh. In the end, Nyota wouldn't have had it any other way.

After the standard week's journey, Nyota was more than happy to leave the shuttle and breathe in the hot, dry air of Vulcan. She was met there by the head linguist of the Vulcan Science Academy, Ivek, a tall, dark-skinned Vulcan who seemed even haughtier than most yet still managed to be eminently polite. They led her to the professors' quarters at the VSA and showed her the room that would be hers for the duration of her work with the VSA.

"You have a private bedroom and a sitting area, but your bathing facilities and kitchen are shared with the other Starfleet member who will be joining you on this project," Ivek informed her.

"Other _Starfleet_ member? I was told I would be working with a Vulcan linguist."

Ivek raised an eyebrow in an expression that Nyota knew well from working with Ambassador Sarek. It clearly demonstrated exasperation and superiority. "And so you are. Lieutenant Commander T'Pring is the best Vulcan linguist in Starfleet, and her knowledge is second only to mine, among those who still live, of course."

Nyota's eyebrows rose dramatically as her eyes widened. T'Pring was one of only two Vulcans to have ever joined Starfleet. She could have sworn the woman was currently First Officer on one of the ships, a Constitution class.

Seemingly sensing Nyota's confusion, Ivek continued, "She is normally the First Officer on the USS Enterprise. However, the starship is currently undergoing a refit, as well as looking for a new captain, and T'Pring came to Vulcan also to dissolve her pre-marital bond with Lieutenant Commander Spock."

"Bond severance? Why would the Lieutenant Com…never mind, that's not relevant. Thank you for your assistance, Ivek. Will you be working with us at all?" Oh, she was very curious, but Vulcans were intensely private people, and further questions would lead nowhere. Perhaps the Lt. Cmdr. in question would be more receptive to questions, having worked with Starfleet, and thus humans.

Ivek raised one of their eyebrows again. "I will be available for consultation if necessary, but I am certain that Lt. Cmdr. T'Pring will be more than capable of answering any questions you may have as it relates to your research."

Nyota nodded, though she felt brushed off. Ivek probably thought that she was taking the easy way out, doing her project on the language that the Federation had worked with for the longest. She presented the ta'al. "In that case, Ivek, _dif-tor heh smusma_."

Ivek responded in kind and left Nyota to examine her room in detail. It was sparsely furnished, and clearly Vulcan in style, complete with a meditation mat and incense holder in one corner. Of course there was also a top-of-the-line computer terminal in the sitting room, fully outfitted for input in multiple languages and character systems. It also had a synchronized PADD that would allow Nyota to work from anywhere in Shi'Kahr while still having access to the VSA's data banks. She moved on to check out the kitchen and bathing areas, taking care to knock before entering either space, on the off chance her new research partner would be inside. The kitchen was, surprisingly, fully-functional. Nyota had expected perhaps a dining area, bar or drink station, and a replicator at best. The kitchen did have a replicator, but it also had ample cookware for a variety of cooking styles, an oven, a stove, a stasis chamber (much better than old Earth-style refrigerators), and more. Suffice to say, Nyota was impressed. The bathroom was appropriately sized for sharing, with the toilet, sinks, and shower in different sections, presumably so either occupant could do what they needed without risking an embarrassing situation with the other.

From her examination of the common areas, she deduced that either Lt. Cmdr. T'Pring did not have any personal effects that she kept out of her private quarters or she had yet to arrive. To satisfy this curiosity, Nyota checked the relevant Starfleet assignment logs and found that Lt. Cmdrs. T'Pring and Spock were scheduled to come in the following day.

Her assignment on Vulcan was estimated to last for a single Vulcan season, about four Earth months. Despite this, Nyota had packed rather lightly.

She was there primarily for work and that required very little in the way of personal effects. Aside from her uniforms and a few sets of Vulcan-appropriate civilian clothes, most of what she'd brought was her personal hygiene and medical supplies. She had brought a single statuette to remind her of her cultural history, and a few real paper language dictionaries that had actually been gifts from a number of her professors at the Academy which she also enjoyed using to brush up on vocabulary.

Content with her knowledge of the situation, she unpacked and settled in for the night.

\----

Absolutely nothing had been going to plan for Lieutenant Commander T'Pring, and it was beginning to fray her Vulcan control.

It had all been orderly six Earth months ago, when she first planned everything. Her childhood bondmate, Lieutenant Commander Spock, had readily agreed to accompany her during her assignment on Vulcan, in order to sever their bond. Once there, she planned to bond instead with Stonn, whose Pon Farr should be coming during the month of her residence. She would complete her duties to Stonn, complete her assignment on Vulcan, determine whether or not she was pregnant, then act accordingly, ultimately returning to Starfleet and continuing her work after any child was born.

Before she and Spock had left to attend the Academy, she and Stonn had agreed that they would bond in the future, but not maintain a relationship, allowing T'Pring to continue her career in Starfleet and Stonn his career at the VSA. Stonn had shown great promise as a chemical engineer (although his scores were consistently lower than Spock's, by a narrow margin), and had already earned a tenured position at the VSA, despite having not yet reached maturity.

She and Spock had arrived without any fanfare and had gone directly to a mind healer, who had easily severed their bond without question, though she did note that the bond was extremely weak already. Spock had then departed with the traditional farewell, and that had been the last thing in her plan that went correctly.

She had gone to her assigned quarters at the VSA and placed all her effects into logical places, then went to find Stonn and discuss the completion of their agreement. She sought him first in his office, but he was not there. After checking the time, she determined that it would not be illogical to find him in the eating establishments in the VSA, but he was not in any of them when she checked. Finally, she decided that checking his lab would be the last possible logical location, assuming Stonn was not injured or ill. But as she approached the lab, she noted a number of signs that indicated that Stonn's lab was closed under quarantine. She was about to leave and check his quarters, her last resort, but she noticed the matron of Stonn's clan departing from the quarantined lab.

" _Dif-tor heh smusma_ , T'Zan. What brings you here today?" T'Pring inquired.

" _Dif-tor heh smusma,_ I apologize. I do not recognize you."

"I am Lieutenant Commander T'Pring, Child of Soren, Starfleet Officer. Stonn and I had an informal agreement that we would bond during my assignment here."

T'Zan's left eyebrow twitched. "That will not be possible, T'Pring, Child of Soren. In the course of his most recent research, Stonn synthesized a chemical that evidently induces the Time in Vulcan males who are approaching theirs. The only other person in the lab at the time was his research assistant, Lorot. Rather than attack his assistant, also a male, but far from his time, as competition, he instead expressed great desire for him. Lorot called me in to perform a non-traditional koon-ut-kal-if-fee, so that a bond could help satiate Stonn. They seem to have been carrying on a relationship prior to then."

T'Pring nodded. "I understand, T'Zan."

They shared farewells, and went their own ways. Once she had returned to her quarters, T'Pring attempted to meditate, but evidently her years amongst humans in Starfleet had severely weakened her emotional control and tolerance. Instead of becoming calmer and sitting perfectly still, she felt sorrow and anger threaten to overwhelm her and found her body shaking uncontrollably.

The part she didn't really understand about it all was just exactly _why_ she was so upset. Their agreement had said nothing about either party not being permitted to form a relationship with another, and they frankly had little romantic interest in each other. Stonn had a preference for men and T'Pring for women, which was neither unheard of nor in any way looked down upon by Vulcan society. However, each being exceptional in their field made them feel that it would be in society's best interest for them to reproduce, so the arrangement had been made for their mutual convenience.

She supposed that the issue, then, lay in what the humans would call "betrayal". She felt somewhat betrayed, even though she logically knew that Stonn had no control over this accidental Pon Farr. She and Stonn had been friends, or as much friends as any two Vulcans could be. In that sense, she was content that someone had been there to keep Stonn from dying, but still…

Deciding that further contemplation would prove fruitless, she settled in to sleep, wondering whether or not her research partner would be competent or not.

\----

 Nyota Uhura woke from her second night at the VSA with the profound sense that something was wrong. Nothing definite, of course; she wasn't a Vulcan or a Betazoid, nor was she aware of any such individuals in her family history. She did test as slightly above psi-null, but these feelings were something she'd had since she was a child. They didn't have any clear explanation, aside from coincidence and over-interpretation, but every time she'd felt this way, her life had changed drastically. The first time her grandmother had died, then it was when her brother left and never returned (to this day she doesn't have any idea what happened to him), then when she had vowed to join Starfleet. The feeling usually meant pain and struggle, but in retrospect, it had also brought long-term positive changes. She fervently hoped this would again be the case.

She quickly executed her morning ablutions before deciding that her suitemate had probably settled in by then and that she should therefore go greet Lt. Cmdr. T'Pring.

Much like at Starfleet Academy and on Starfleet's vessels, most rooms in the VSA had a com panel with a buzzer. Nyota pressed the one in the hall outside the Lt. Cmdr.'s room. There were about three seconds of time that passed before a strong, feminine voice called out, "Come!" and the door slid open.

The room was almost a perfect mirror image of her own, with the exception of a few additional items, mostly related to Vulcan meditation. The smell of incense in the room was strong, and T'Pring was in a meditative pose with her hair down and back to Nyota. She rose gracefully and turned to face Nyota.

Nyota raised her hand in the _ta'al_. " _Dif-tor heh smusma_ , Lieutenant Commander T'Pring. I am Ensign Nyota Uhura, the Starfleet officer here to complete my advanced research on the Vulcan language and culture."

T'Pring returned the salute in kind. " _Dif-tor heh smusma_ , Ensign Uhura. For what reason did you select Vulcan for your specialty, if I may ask?"

This surprised Nyota, as it was a question that bordered on curiosity and emotionalism. She brushed it off and proceeded to answer. "During my time at the Academy, I was employed by Ambassador Sarek as his assistant. I came to admire the language and culture of the other founding member species of the Federation. I was a command track cadet and chose to specialize in communications, specifically the Vulcan language. Does that sufficiently answer your question?" She smiled, unable to resist at the almost-surprised expression on T'Pring's face.

"You worked for my ex-bondmate's _sa-mekh_? I was not aware he was inclined to hire humans, or that his bondmate would allow it."

"Because she's a human, too? I did meet Lady Amanda a few times. She was a wonderful woman, a bit less emotional that most humans, but that's to be expected after living with Vulcans for so long. She actually liked me a lot. Tried to set me up with Spock a few times…"

Both of T'Pring's eyebrows rose. "But he was already promised to me…and in any case Spock does not have any attraction for women."

Uhura smirked. "Oh, I know, and I have very little attraction for men. Spock was very polite and Lady Amanda very apologetic."

"Lady Amanda is very respectable." T'Pring's expression returned to neutral. "Before we begin your work, I wish to gauge your current knowledge of the Vulcan language and it predecessors. We will also discuss Romulan to the extent that it is relevant to your work. I shall dress for the day and meet you in the assigned library access room."

Nyota nodded and they exchanged farewells. As she made her way to the room, she marveled at how beautiful T'Pring was. She had long admired Vulcan features, and she had found Spock aesthetically pleasing, but he just hadn't been her type. T'Pring on the other hand was precisely her type, from her long black hair to her delicate curves to the fact that she was just barely taller than Nyota. Beautiful, simply beautiful.

\----

T'Pring found herself profoundly disturbed by Ensign Nyota Uhura. After the morning meeting initiated by the human in question, they had met again in the library room, where the ensign had demonstrated enormous knowledge of Vulcan, proto-Vulcan, and Romulan language. She had even rearranged her short hair into a facsimile of a traditional Vulcan hairstyle and had assiduously avoided making skin contact with T'Pring.

The ensign had politely invited T'Pring to join her for a dinner composed of foods traditional to the human's ancestors, vegetarian of course. Somewhat to her own surprise, T'Pring had agreed, on the premise of discussing human culture and languages.

Now she was in her quarters, fifteen minutes prior to the agreed time, standing before her wardrobe and attempting to select something to wear. It wouldn't have been a problem if Nyota Uhura hadn't been the most perfect human she'd ever met and if her emotional control wasn't still weak after the bond severance and the issue with Stonn. Her wardrobe was almost exclusively multiples of her Starfleet uniform. She also had her meditation robe and…the outfit she had planned to wear for her and Stonn's koon-ut-kal-if-fee.

She nearly reached for the last item, but instead chose to switch to a clean uniform and loosened her hair somewhat. She entered the kitchen. It was a complete mess, but it smelled wonderful. Nyota had laid out a selection of dishes on the dining table and waved T'Pring over.

"Good evening, Lieutenant Commander T'Pring," she greeted.

"Good evening, Nyota," T'Pring returned, using the ensign's named as she had been instructed earlier in the day. "You may simply call me T'Pring. It is logical since we will be working together and it will save time."

"Well then, T'Pring, do you see anything that appeals to you?"

_You_ , she thought involuntarily. Instead, she indicated a green and white mash that looked pleasant.

"Ah, yes, irio. Mashed peas and potatoes with corn, and not at all spicy. You should find it to your taste." Nyota smiled.

It was to T'Pring's taste, surprisingly. Most human food that she had at the Academy and on ships had been spicier than was suitable to most Vulcan palates. All of the food Nyota offered was also appropriate, though she had mentioned more than once that the dish normally included chilies or other spices. The conversation was engaging, made more so by the fact that Nyota came from a region and lineage that had included the earliest humans.

As the days passed and their work progressed, T'Pring expected that she would begin to find flaws with Nyota and manage to regain her emotional control. Of course the human had flaws; after all, she was human. Some days she spoke too loud and got a little too close for the typical Vulcan comfort zone. She tended to leave the cooking area a mess. She invited T'Pring to practice combat with her and showed signs of being a bit too daring for her own good, which had nearly led to broken bones multiple times. Other times she was too quiet and hardly spoke outside of business conversation. Worst of all was that no matter what she was doing or wearing, T'Pring found her beautiful in her own right.

Furthermore, her emotional controls had not improved much. She had met with Stonn and Lorot to express her approval of their logical match and found that her emotional controls were perfect in that case. But around Nyota, she could hardly suppress her emotions, particularly a new one that had cropped up since she'd met the human woman. It was difficult to identify, but after several evenings of meditation, she determined it to be love.

This was an issue. T'Pring had goals, plans for her life, and they most definitely did not include an emotional attachment or bond (as she had found herself considering a few times) with a human, Starfleet officer or not. Several times she very nearly went to Ivek and Nyota's advisor to request a reassignment. Even if she did wish for an attachment to Nyota, she was not familiar enough with human mannerisms and culture to determine if Nyota wanted the same from her.

About halfway through the project, T'Pring finally managed to rein in at least her outward emotional reactions and vowed to herself that she would keep it that way until the completion of the project.

\----

Nyota was frustrated as hell. It had taken less than a human month for her to fall in love with Lieutenant Commander T'Pring. It was the worst thing she'd ever experienced. She had no way of telling if T'Pring had any interest in her. She had managed to figure out why T'Pring had been a bit looser than most Vulcans with her emotions: the man she had planned to bond with had accidentally triggered his own Pon Farr early and mated with his assistant shortly before T'Pring had arrived. It was not encouraging, though Nyota was well aware that past relationships were not always indicative of sexuality. After all, most of her own relationships had been with men.

She had tried flirting, though she had continued to resist the urge to make skin contact with T'Pring, knowing that the contact would likely be unpleasant to the touch telepath. Things had only gotten bleaker around the midpoint of the project, when all outward signs of emotion from T'Pring had vanished. What had started out as a nice final trip before long-term  assignment had turned into a frustrating experience of hope and disappointment.

An earth month prior to the scheduled completion of the project, Nyota received an important missive from Starfleet Command. They wanted her to submit her credentials and partial research as a potential candidate for the captaincy of the _Enterprise_. This surprised her greatly. While she had served as first officer or captain on most of her cadet cruises and held a bridge position during her months of service as an ensign on the _Defiant_ , she was still just an ensign. At best, her current research was intended only to promote her to lieutenant, maybe lieutenant commander if she was lucky. A bit of investigation into recent Starfleet records revealed that the admiralty had been planning to appoint James Kirk as captain of the _Enterprise_ , but some strange things had happened and he had been appointed to the captaincy of the _Farragut_ , with the newly promoted Commander Spock as his first officer. Apparently part of the deal had been that the pair had formed a rudimentary bond almost immediately after the dissolution of the childhood bond between Spock and T'Pring, and the new bondmates were, by Vulcan law, unable to be separated.

Nyota proceeded to submit the requested documents, also attaching an outlined plan for the remainder of the project and a requested recommendation list. She likely had little chance of actually getting the position, but if Starfleet command "wanted" something, it actually meant they _demanded_ it, so submitting the information was safer for her career than the opposite.

They also asked that she submit her recommendation for first officer should she be appointed the captaincy, but she wasn't certain of anyone she knew who would be suitable for the position. Instead she recommended that they leave the current first officer. Something told her that she should be aware of who that was, but she couldn't recall and figured her chances were so slim that it didn't matter anyway.

She and T'Pring had continued to have a twice-weekly dinner, but the conversation stuck closely to either Vulcan or another language that one or the other was well versed in. Nyota still enjoyed the dinners but they didn't have the same spark of excitement as the first few.

The work flowed well. There were relatively few arguments or disagreements, and T'Pring seemed to be able to predict when Nyota would have a question about something she came across in the proto-Vulcan texts. The project  and modifications to the current programming of Universal Translator was completed ahead of time by an earth week.

Both women arranged for transport back to Earth, though T'Pring had elected to stay an extra day to have one more visit with Stonn and Lorot. Nyota was hoping that the expediting of the work would demonstrate to Starfleet command that she was deserving of a promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and thus left for San Francisco straight away.

\----

The week of travel that it took to return to headquarters was a time of boredom for Nyota. She was also curious as to who would get the honor of captaining the _Enterprise_ for what was rumored to be the first five-year mission into uncharted territory, but the vessel was not equipped with passenger subspace connections, so she had no way of connecting to news from Earth. She would simply have to wait until she reached Earth to find out.

More than anything else, she missed T'Pring. Even without any outward emotion, there was still so much that Uhura loved about T'Pring. She was beautiful and capable and intelligent and kind and understanding and so many other things that all together made her _T'Pring_. There was a chance they would serve on the same ship someday, but she found this highly unlikely.

Before they had parted ways for the last time, Nyota had taken the liberty of brushing her bare hand along T'Pring's for a single second, strongly projecting her feelings. She thought something in T'Pring's face shifted when this happened, but she blinked and T'Pring's face was as impassive as ever. Most likely, T'Pring took some sort of offence at Nyota's very human feelings and would carefully ensure that they never be assigned to the same vessel. In any case, T'Pring was wonderful, but she wasn't the end-all-be-all of Nyota's romantic desires. She would move on, or so she told herself.

\----

When Nyota had brushed her hand along T'Pring's, T'Pring had felt a strong stream of _attractionlovelustadmirationloveloverightrightright_ flow through the connection. Even from just this short brush, she could tell that she would likely never find a mind as compatible as Nyota's. It was essentially a level of connection defined by one word: _t'hy'la_. While the word was typically used only for men, it had not been uncommon among women in the pre-Surak era, as warriors of both genders fought in completely separate bands to prevent reproduction among those who could better be used for fighting.

Unfortunately, Nyota, her _t'hy'la_ , her perfect match, did not fit into her plan for advancement. A child could well be raised by its father alone, but a true lover required attention and attachment, a potential distraction that could easily affect her chances at advancing to Admiral before she reached fifty. She was already 29, but her position as first officer on the _Enterprise_ , the 'fleet's flagship, was highly promising. Regardless of her brilliance, Nyota was merely an ensign. Of course, after she submitted her thesis, Nyota was likely to get a promotion to Lieutenant or Lieutenant Commander, but that would still likely cause a disparity between their ranks that would be unacceptable to Starfleet command.

Her visit with Stonn and Lorot was…pleasant, but also disquieting.

Stonn enquired about how she was doing, as she had mentioned her attraction to Nyota during her previous visit.

Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own. "Stonn, T'Zan let me know that you and Lorot had been in a relationship before your Time. You bonded readily. Why? What was the logic for your relationship?"

Stonn stared at her blankly for a few moments before he responded. "Our relationship was logical because I love him and he loves me." Of course, the word he used was closer to "cherish" than "love", but the modern Vulcan language was not conducive to emotional expressions, mostly to keep up the appearance to other species.

She closed her eyes briefly. "And I love Nyota and she loves me, but our careers…Starfleet is somewhat particular about fraternization between ranks and the likelihood of being placed on the same vessel is small. Less than 10%. And arranging it so we could be together would put my chances of becoming an admiral before fifty would be at stake…"

"Is love and a strong bond not more important than your career?" T'Pring opened her mouth to speak, but Stonn held his hand up to stop her. "At the very least, promise me that you will seek a bond with her if you are placed on the same ship someday. This would honor our previous agreement."

T'Pring sat in silence for several seconds. The chances were low enough. "I accept."

The journey back to San Francisco was tense. She was uncertain of her position, as the new captain, whoever they may be, had the right to choose their first officer, so the likelihood that she would be reassigned to a different ship was high. In any case, she would not know until her arrival.

\----

The transport shuttle had no windows, otherwise Nyota likely would not have exited the ship first as she did. The moment she set a foot outside the shuttle she was bombarded with questions from at least twenty different reporters.

"…the flagship…"

"…youngest captain…"

"…true that you saved a Vulcan…"

"…the _Enterprise_ …"

Frankly it was information overload, and she found herself overwhelmed. Suddenly the crowds parted and Ambassador Sarek approached her, warning off the reporters with glares.

"Madame Uhura, if you would come with me…" He offered her his arm, which she took gladly. He led her to an aircar which took them to the Vulcan embassy. Once they were seated in his office, Sarek spoke again. "It appears that you have not been informed of some recent developments in Starfleet affairs."

"It is only logical, as I have been in transit for the last week."

Sarek inclined his head. "Then I have the dubious honor of informing you of some important news. You have been selected to captain the _USS Enterprise_ for a historic five-year mission into uncharted territory. As you would say, congratulations."

Nyota thought she might faint. "I've what? Why…? But I was just an ensign… This is unprecedented…"

"Actually, upon reception of your research, they retroactively promoted you to Lieutenant Commander three weeks ago. Your advancement is still unprecedented, but I understand that Starfleet command has some hidden agenda behind this appointment. I am not precisely aware of what it is, but I have heard…rumors that the Klingons or Romulans may be involved. In any case, the mission would require an expert in diplomacy and communications. You are eminently suited to this, especially in any cases where the universal translator malfunctions or fails."

"I…wow…Thank you, Sarek, you honor me."

"I am only stating the logic behind the situation."

Suddenly there was a soft sound of excitement from behind her. She rose and found herself face-to-face with Lady Amanda, who promptly wrapped her arms around Nyota.

"Oh my dear, I'm so proud of you," she said. "I have always seen you as the daughter I never had, especially with your work on the universal translator, just as I did before you. I…I'm just so, so happy and proud." She began to cry a little.

"Thank you so much, Lady Amanda. I would be proud to consider you my mother, and perhaps Sarek as my _sa-mekh_ , if he would agree. And Spock my _sa'kai_ , of course."

From behind her Sarek spoke. "You are as much my _ko-fu_ as Spock is my _sa-fu_. We may be distant, but he shall always be my son. And I am certain he would be honored to be your _sa'kai_ if he could be here with us today."

"Thank you, both of you, so much. I wish I could stay longer, but I should make my way to headquarters immediately. I'm sure they have much to brief me on before I can take my position on the _Enterprise_."

They parted traditionally and Nyota reported in to headquarters. The briefing was surprisingly short. The gist of it was that she would join the crew in space dock where they would make final preparations before departing for a tour of several important Federation planets. Afterwards, they would receive more specific directions regarding how to proceed.

It took two hours to finally get to the Enterprise. She was greeted by the kind face of a taller Scottish man. "Permission to come aboard, Lieutenant Commander?" she asked, judging his rank by the stripes on his cuff.

"Permission granted, Captain." He winked before proceeding to escort her to the bridge.

"Are you my first officer?" The one thing Starfleet had not informed her of was precisely who was on her crew, just that she had gotten the best crew they had.

The man laughed. "Oh no, lassie. I'm the Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott. Most people call me Scotty. No, if ye dinnae appoint your own XO, then Lieutenant Commander T'Pring's your girl for the job. She's a fine lass, a bit cold, but I understand tha's the way Vulcans are."

Nyota tried not to let the shock show in her face. T'Pring? Her first officer? Surely not… She smiled at Scott. "Well, Mr. Scott, I'm glad to have you as my Chief Engineer. Will everyone else, excepting my XO, be on the bridge? I'd like the medical staff there as well."

Scotty looked thoughtful for a moment. "Aye, we can get the medical staff onto the bridge." He stopped in front of a com panel. "Scott to Sick Bay."

"Chapel here."

"Could you and Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Tracy report to the bridge. Our new cap'n'd like to see you."

"Right away. Chapel out."

Scotty continued walking. "Doctor Chapel'll be your CMO. She's the best doctor in the 'fleet, even though she's only been practicing for five years, though McCoy, who's on the _Farragut_ now, is a close second."

"Of course."

The rest of the way to the bridge was spent in comfortable silence. As the turbolift doors opened, displaying the bridge, Scotty announced, "Captain on the bridge!"

Nyota walked confidently onto the bridge in spite of being out of uniform. An Asian man, rank Lieutenant, rose from the captain's chair. He moved to stand next to one of the navigation boards as she moved to stand in front of the chair.

"I apologize for being uninformed and out of uniform, but as you may know, I just returned to Earth this morning. I am your new captain, Nyota Uhura, she/her/hers. If each of you, bar Mr. Scott, would do me the honor of introducing yourself, pronouns as well…" She trailed off.

The man who had been in the captain's chair spoke first. "I am Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, captain. He/him/his. Formally, I'm a navigator, but I also work with the botany and astrometrics teams. I'm also an expert sword fighter, for what it's worth."

A man seated at the navigational controls turned to face her. He was very young and had the worst bowl cut she'd ever seen, Vulcans included. "I'm Ensign Pavel Chekov, keptin. Masculine pronouns. I'm a nawigator, but I also hawe science experience."

Next came the blonde woman next to him. "Lieutenant Jana Haines. She/her/hers. Also a navigator with science experience."

"Lieutenant Sola Rahda. Trained in navigation, science, and engineering. Xe/xer/xers. I can also serve as communications officer."

"Ensign Yasu Tanaka. They/them/theirs. Engineering and security."

Scotty nodded to Chapel.

"Doctor Christine Chapel, Lieutenant Commander. She/her/hers. Chief medical officer."

"Doctor Chikondi M'Benga, Lieutenant. He/him/his or they/them/theirs. Secondary doctor, specializing in Vulcan physiology."

"Nurse Karen Tracy, Lieutenant. She/her/hers. Nurse on call."

"Lieutenant Lori Palmer. They/them/theirs. Command and operations trained, communications."

"Lieutenant Commander Arlene Galway. She/her/hers or he/him/his. Science officer."

"Lieutenant Commander Martha Landon. Zey/zem/zeirs. Chief of security."

"Thank you everyone. Now, we will be working together, perhaps not directly, for a very long time. It is imperative that we work together efficiently. Our mission will be unprecedented, but I will adhere to the rules," _until it becomes absolutely necessary_. "It may take a while to develop real cooperation, but we will have a tour of Federation planets before our true departure. I expect that this stable time will be used to streamline the operation of this vessel. On that note, I believe I should change into uniform and tour the ship. Mr. Sulu, you have the chair."

After switching into the correct yellow dress and a set of Starfleet issue solid black tights, she was met outside her quarters by a crew member in a red dress with the most amazing basket weave hair.

"Lieutenant Janice Rand. I'll announce my pronouns each time we meet, as I'm genderfluid. They/them/theirs. I'm the unofficial quartermaster, second in the engineering department, and a security officer. I'll be showing you around the ship."

The tour was thorough and thankfully ended in the officers' mess, where Nyota took dinner before retiring to her quarters. Tomorrow she would have to face T'Pring…

\----

T'Pring was still unaware of her new captain's identity when her vessel arrived in Earth orbit. She pulled out her communicator and opened it.

"Lieutenant Commander T'Pring to _Enterprise_."

" _Enterprise_ here, and that's actually Commander T'Pring, Commander."

"One to beam up, _Enterprise_."

She closed the communicator and waited for the beam to rematerialize her in the transporter room. Without a second glance to the operator, she headed to the bridge.

Judging by the response of the transporter operator, she had not been replaced and must have been made "permanent" first officer. That would explain the somewhat sudden promotion.

She had to admit that she did miss Uhura, illogical as it seemed to her. Some deeply buried part of her wished to find that Nyota had been placed on the _Enterprise_ , but as she had noted before, the likelihood of such a thing was low.

The bridge was occupied by the gamma shift still, so she slipped in and took a seat at her position at the communications station. She went through the verification procedures to ensure that they hadn't broken anything while they were making upgrades and such. She had to rewire a few connectors, and she installed the updates to the universal translator that she and Nyota had worked on.

She was running one last verification check when the turbolift opened and someone called out, "Captain on the bridge!"

She stood up from the console with her usual grace and turned to introduce herself to the captain. "Commander T'Pri..ng…" She trailed off when she saw who the captain was. T'Pring coughed slightly before finishing. "She/her/hers. First officer, communications expert, also trained in science and engineering with solid background in combat."

Nyota smiled slightly. "Captain Nyota Uhura. _Dif-tor heh smusma_." She made the _ta'al_. "I look forward to working with you."

She watched blankly as Nyota took her seat in the captain's chair. Sitting back down, she mindlessly worked through the verifications on her station while trying to determine what to do about situation she now found herself in. Obviously, she only had what ultimate option about what to do, but it was the method of approach which was the question at hand. After four short minutes, she had completed the verifications and determined the best course of action.

She rose from her station. "Captain, if I could have a word with you, in private." Without waiting for a response, she headed to the turbolift and waited for Nyota to follow her. Once they were both in the turbolift she called out, "Deck 5." Then, once the lift had begun to move, T'Pring called out, "Stop."

"Okay, T'Pring," Nyota said, sounding resigned. "If you want to request a transfer, I won't stop you. In fact, now is an excellent time, as you can just return to Earth to get transport to your new assignment. If I felt I could, _I_ would request a transfer because I know how important your career plan is to you. After all, I never really intended to be captain…I had just wanted a position as commu..nica..tion…" She looked down from the spot on the ceiling she'd been staring at intently and was surprised to find T'Pring with her right hand out, index and middle finger extended toward Nyota.

Despite not having a link, T'Pring was able to discern what her new captain was thinking. "Yes, Nyota, I am asking you to engage in the _ozh'esta_ with me."

Nyota's jaw dropped and T'Pring had to resist the urge to let her lips quirk upwards. Haltingly, as though afraid that it was unreality, Nyota moved her hand forward in the same position until their fingers made contact. The new contact sent a light shiver up T'Pring's spine, which only intensified as Nyota shyly began to stroke her fingers along T'Pring's.

Suddenly the stroking stopped and a small sound of dismay escaped T'Pring at the loss.

"T'Pring, tell me honestly, what is going on here? Am I your rebound after Stonn? Is this your way of taking revenge on me for becoming captain? What is it?" Nyota asked, posture stiff and expression sad.

Gently, T'Pring stepped forward and enveloped Nyota in her arms, resting their faces cheek-to-cheek so she could better gauge Nyota's interpretation of her words. "Oh, _ashal-veh_ , I am sorry I have hurt you so. I had been so focused on my plans for my career that I failed to see the logic in the option before me. If it had not been for Stonn, I would have asked for the transfer you offered. He made me see the logic in being with you." Sensing that Nyota had once again misinterpreted her words, she cut to the chase. "It is logical because I _love you_. Further, we are _t'hy'la_ , compatible beyond anything else. I love you, Nyota, and I would be honored if I could someday call you my bondmate."

She released Nyota and pressed a kiss to her cheek before leaning back against the wall. She was about to say something about the lift and choices when Nyota suddenly blurted out, "Deck 5." She then lunged forward and met T'Pring's lips with hers. They kissed for only a moment before the computer announced their arrival.

They separated and Nyota grabbed T'Pring's hand and pulled her into the captain's quarters.

Once the door was firmly shut, Nyota spoke one last time. "Bonding. Yes. Now. Please."

Finally, T'Pring could no longer resist the urge to smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. Writing this was an adventure. I love the concept of these two, and I love the concept of them being the duo at the helm of the Enterprise. Unfortunately, I have a terrible grasp of characterization and writing a Vulcan is hard as he**. I guess this is my first full-blown and posted Star Trek fic...huh. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this disaster straight from the mind of a trans guy who's never been in a romantic relationship his whole damn life and is now super busy with college...


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